Lac La Biche County councillors had their annual organizational meeting last Tuesday with members around the table divvying up their duties on more than two dozen committees. The meeting also re-assigned the role of deputy mayor that was previously held by councillors Colette Borgun and Lorin Tkachuk.
Although those two councillors each held the title for a year, council recommended that the remaining six council members would split the role over the next two years of the council term. Starting with L'Heureux, each councillor will have four months as deputy mayor.
"It gives everyone an opportunity to serve in that capacity," said councillor Borgun just before councillors Charlyn Moore, L'Heureux, Colin Cote, Darlene Beniuk, Jason Stedman and Sterling Johnson drew numbers to select their place in the four-month cycles.
Lac La Biche County spokesperson Jihad Moghrabi said the role of Deputy Mayor is classified in its own category for elected positions.
"This position encompasses the responsibilities of a Councillor and the leadership role of Mayor, as needed," notes the county's description of the position, which highlights several additional responsibilities over the councillor role, including reviewing and approving Council remuneration and expense sheets and acting on behalf of the mayor in the mayor's absence.
A little more pay
In terms of pay, the role of Deputy Mayor does offer the councillors some extra pay benefit.
According to the municipal expense policy, the mayor is paid $53,374 per year as a salary. Councillors are paid $32,156 per year and a Deputy Mayor is paid $38,110.
With the Deputy role split six times over the next two years, each councillor that takes on the role will receive an additional $1,900 on their annual salary. Extra compensation could also be paid to deputy-mayors if they take on extra meetings, engagements or phone calls in place of the mayor.
"(Each) Councillor who serves as a Deputy Mayor for four months will receive an additional $1,984.67 per year, meaning that their annual salary will be $34,140.67 each," explained Moghrabi. "This will work out to the same amount as if a single Councillor served as Deputy Mayor for a full year."
Currently, the same reimbursement policy has a communication allowance of $50 per month with a county-paid cell phone for household and internet expenses or $150 a month for telephone, cell phone and internet expenses. Meeting fees and committee meetings bring council members $143 for up to four hours and $286 for more than four hours. Meetings of more than eight hours bring a claim of $429.
Councillor Darlene Beniuk will be Deputy Mayor Beniuk in the middle of 2021
Councillor Charlyn Moore, who will take over the deputy-mayor role in January after L'Heureux, said the rotation makes the role less of a "thing," on council, taking away any big significance to the role.
"The point of sharing it is that it's now not a 'thing'. You are sharing ... being part of a team," she said.
In April of next year — after Moore — councillor Sterling Johnston will take over the role, followed by councillor Cote, then Beniuk, with councillor Stedman holding the role leading to the 2021 municipal election.
Who's on Committee
Aboriginal Liaison Committee
Councillors Johnson, Tkachuk, L'Heureux
Agriculture Enviroment Appeals Committe
Councillors Johnson, Tkachuk, L'Heureux
Agriculture Service Board
L'Heureux, Borgun
Assessment Review Board
Cote
Bold Center Sports Fields
Cote, Moore, Tkachuk
Emergency Advisory Committee
L'Heureux, Stedman, Tkachuk
State of Emergency Committee
Stedman, Tkachuk
Family and Community Support Services (FCSS)
Moore, Borgun
Library Board
Beniuk, Borgun
Safe Municipality Committee
Cote, L'Heureux, Tkachuk
Municipal Planning Commission (MPC)
Borgun, Johnston, Tkachuk, Moghrabi, Moore, Tkachuk
Sudivision Development Appeal Board
L'Heureux, Cote
Water Resource Task Force
Cote, Stedman
Transportation Master Plan Advisory Committee
- dissolved as planning has been accomplished.
Bilingual Municipalities Association
Borgun, Cote (alternate)
Athabasca Watershed Council
Johnston
Buffalo Lake Metis SettlementMutual Cell Phone Tower Initiative
Tkachuk, L'Heureux
Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement Economic Development Committee
Johnson
Coalition For A Safer 881 and 63
Moore
Community Futures
Moore
Greater North Foundation
Beniuk, Borgun, and ex-officio Mayor Moghrabi
Lac La Biche & District Chamber of Commerce
Tkachuk
Lac La Biche Golf Club
Tkachuk
Lac La Biche County Regional Attraction and Retention Society
Moghrabi, Moore, Stedman
Regional Health Foundation
Stedman, L'Heureux, Tkachuk
Lac La Biche Pow Wow Days & Fish Derby Association
Cote, L'Heureux (alternate)
Lac La BIche Traffic Safety Committee
Moghrabi, Moore
Lakeland Agricultural Research Association (LARA)
Borgun, L'Heureux (alternate)
Lakeland County Regional Trail Working Group
Stedman, Johnson
Lakeland Industry and Community Association (LICA)
Tkachuk
Natural Gas Partnership Committee
L'Heureux, Johnson
Northeast Alberta Information Hub
Tkachuk, Stedman (alternate)
Natural Gas System Issues Committee
L'Heureux, Johnson
Northern Lights Library Board
Beniuk, Borgun (alternate)
Oil Sands Community Alliance (OSCA)
Moghrabi, L'Heureux (alternate)
Portage College Athletics Association
Tkachuk, Moore (alternate)
Plamondon & District Community Development Society (PDCDS)
Borgun, L'Heureux
The Next Step Team (fishing advisory for the region)
Johnson, L'Heureux, Moghrabi (ex-officio)
Veterans Memorial Highway Committee
Borgun, Moghrabi (alternate)
Veterinary Services
Beniuk
Water North Coalition
Stedman, Johnson
Of the committees, several have either never met in the term of the current council, or have met only a few times.
State of Emergency Committee - Never met ... "And let's hope it never meets," joked councillor Lorin Tkachuk
Water Resource Management ... "Have we ever met?" asked Mayor Moghrabi
Natural Gas Partnership Committee ... "We met once last year," said councillor Johnson.
Oil Sands Community Alliance ... "We've never had a meeting."
Next Step Team ... "Things will be heating up. We will need direction right away before (the government) starts printing the new fishing regulations," said Mayor Moghrabi.
Veterans Memorial Highway Committee ... "We never met the year before, when I was on," said councilllor Sterling Johnson.
